Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!

24 Power Stones to Go!

...

The rain fell in a steady drizzle, seeping into the cracks of the black stone surface and soaking the devastated area of the hot springs in the valley.

After confirming that Roshi had fallen unconscious, Ye Zi controlled the tree roots to withdraw back into the rock wall, revealing Roshi's limp body.

His head drooped lifelessly, eyes shut tight, shrouded in shadow. The sword Chijin had pierced his chest, near his stomach, and blood slowly flowed from the wound, dripping down the stone wall.

With a swift leap, Ye Zi jumped up, pulled Chijin from Roshi's body, and caught him before landing softly on the ground.

"Kotoe, stop the bleeding. We can't have him waking up halfway," Ye Zi instructed, tossing Roshi's heavily injured body to Kotoe. Meanwhile, he and Shin set about erasing some of the traces of the battle, including the evidence of Wood Release usage.

After Kotoe finished tending to Roshi's wounds and confirmed that his vital signs were stable, she followed Ye Zi's orders and administered a plant-based toxin that would keep Roshi in a deep coma.

Throughout this process, Shokui, the entity within Ye Zi, constantly clamored about devouring the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, boasting about how doing so would grant immense power—enough even to break through dimensional barriers, or so Shokui claimed.

Ye Zi chose to ignore Shokui entirely.

Once Kotoe had treated Roshi's injuries, Shin hoisted Roshi over his shoulder, and the three of them set off through the rain toward the location of the Gedo Statue.

Unbeknownst to the major ninja villages, Akatsuki had officially begun their plan to collect the Tailed Beasts, capturing the Four-Tails with swift precision.

After several days of travel, they arrived at a neutral territory and proceeded directly to the secret underground cave where the Gedo Statue was hidden.

The entrance was located at the base of a mountain cliff, surrounded by dense forests, with a valley stream flowing nearby. The entrance to the cave was concealed by a barrier set up by Nagato.

Ye Zi formed the necessary hand signs and dispelled the barrier.

The cliff face rippled like water, sending waves across the stone surface.

Ye Zi stepped forward, his body phasing through the cliff as the ripples intensified.

Kotoe and Shin, carrying Roshi, followed him inside.

The scenery changed instantly. They now stood at the top of a simple stone staircase that led downward. After descending sixty-eight steps, they arrived at the bottom, an expansive natural underground cave with minimal signs of artificial construction.

A lone eternal flame flickered in the center of the cave, casting faint light over the space.

Facing the flame was a massive, grotesque humanoid figure, the Gedo Statue. Its mouth held a large scroll, and its body was adorned with nine tightly shut eyes. Wooden spikes jutted from its body, and its human-like hands were raised, bound by chains.

Only the statue's upper half was visible, as the lower part of its body seemed buried deep within the rock.

The Gedo Statue had been summoned by Nagato to use the Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals technique, designed to extract the Tailed Beasts' chakra. While the technique didn't necessarily require the statue to be in this location, Nagato had used Projection Technique to summon Akatsuki members from any location.

This wasn't the first time the three of them had seen the Gedo Statue, so they remained unfazed.

Ye Zi ordered Shin to place Roshi's unconscious body in front of the Gedo Statue and then sent a message to Nagato.

A few moments later, the flame flickered, and a shadowy figure appeared in the air, marked by cold, indifferent Rinnegan eyes. It was Nagato.

Other shadowy figures began to materialize around the flame, their outlines faint but discernible in the dim light of the cave. Only their eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

Using the Projection Technique, all ten of Akatsuki's core members had gathered.

Kotoe and Shin, now fully integrated into the group, were assigned the codenames Doku and Boku, respectively. Although they had mastered Wood Release, they were still at the bottom of the hierarchy in terms of strength.

Once everyone had appeared, their gazes fell on Roshi, missing an arm and lying unconscious before the Gedo Statue.

Over the years, the core members had come to understand the organization's true goal. Before the plan began, everyone present knew that their leader's objective was to collect all the Tailed Beasts to create a weapon of mass destruction, one that could bring the entire shinobi world to its knees.

"Efficient as always, Ku (Ye Zi). If you were in charge of the organization's finances, we'd see a massive profit boost," Kakuzu remarked, breaking the silence.

Ye Zi ignored the sarcasm and turned to Nagato.

Kakuzu, unfazed by the dismissal, let out a quiet snort but said nothing more.

"Well done," Nagato said, his Rinnegan fixed on Roshi.

"Shall we begin?" Ye Zi asked.

Nagato glanced around at the gathered members before giving a slight nod. "Take your positions."

At his command, the group used the Body Flicker Technique to move to their designated positions on the Gedo Statue's ten fingers. Each person stood comfortably on the statue's outstretched fingers, their size emphasizing the statue's immense scale.

"It's finally starting," Kyuuroku muttered softly.

Kakuzu glanced at him, but said nothing.

Sasori and Juzu waited silently, their expressions unchanged.

Zetsu lifted his head to gaze at the grotesque face of the Gedo Statue. White Zetsu's mouth curled into a faint smile, while Black Zetsu remained emotionless, though a glint of something sinister flashed in his lone eye.

"At long last… the story moves toward the main plot. From here on, you must work hard, my key supporting character… Ye Zi," Black Zetsu thought to himself, before turning his gaze away and returning to stillness.

"The sealing process will take three days. Everyone, keep an eye on your real bodies," Nagato's cold voice echoed in their ears. "Let's begin."

Nagato initiated the sealing process, forming the Ram seal first, with his left thumb placed over the right, and the others followed suit.

Whoosh!

As the seals were formed, a soft green glow emanated from each of the Gedo Statue's fingers, lighting up the characters that represented each member's code name.

Ye Zi's character was "Ku."

The combined power of their consciousnesses activated the statue.

Clang!

With a loud clattering sound, the chains binding the scroll in the statue's mouth unraveled, and the scroll dropped to the ground with a thud.

As the scroll fell away, the Gedo Statue's mouth opened, releasing a massive orb of pale blue chakra. The orb split into nine ethereal blue dragons that surged toward Roshi's unconscious body.

Boom!

The ground trembled, sending sand and debris flying through the air.

The nine chakra dragons coiled together, lifting Roshi's limp body into the air, prying open his mouth, and beginning to extract the Four-Tails' chakra from him, siphoning it into the Gedo Statue.

As the Tailed Beast chakra was drawn out, Roshi's life force slowly drained away.

"Three days…" Ye Zi muttered, watching Roshi's body floating in midair. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to Kotoe and Shin.

Among the Akatsuki members, the two of them had the weakest chakra reserves, but they just barely met the requirements for the technique.

With the cells of Hashirama Senju in their bodies, given time, it wasn't impossible for them to surpass many of the others present.

"Once the first Tailed Beast is sealed, the second will follow..."

Ye Zi's thoughts turned inward as the sealing process continued.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

When the last of the Four-Tails' chakra was extracted from Roshi's body, one of the Gedo Statue's nine eyes trembled before slowly opening.

With the Tailed Beast gone, Roshi's lifeless body fell to the ground.

No one paid any attention to him. Instead, all eyes were on the Gedo Statue's newly opened eye.

After a brief pause, Nagato said, "The sealing is complete. Dismissed."

At his command, Nagato ended the Projection Technique, and the shadowy figures of the other seven members vanished, leaving only Ye Zi, Kotoe, and Shin behind.

Both Kotoe and Shin were visibly exhausted, their faces showing the strain from the three-day-long sealing process. Ye Zi, in contrast, appeared unaffected.

Feeling Shokui's deep hunger gnawing at his soul, Ye Zi calmly gazed at the Gedo Statue's single open eye, whispering to himself, "The first one..."

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Currently on Chapter 304 - Targetting the One-Tail and a Certain Leaf Shinobi